True love never ages
by TripleMelody
Summary: One-shot about Serenity and Tristan. After the death of her father, Serenity finds true love in one of her best friends.


This is a one-shot that I wrote specifically for Serenity. I don't actually know what happened to Joey and Serenity's dad, so I made it up for the story. Hope you like it! Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters.

Serenity was sitting on her favourite swing in the rundown park near her and Joey's home. She found that the repetitive back and forward, up and down movements comforted her, since it reminded her of how her dad had rocked her in his arms as a child . . . before her parents separated. The last memory she had of him was kissing her and saying that he'd always love her. She blinked back tears as she remembered coming into the school's office and finding her mother and Joey there. She was so excited to see her mom, but that feeling quickly faded when she saw the tears rolling down her brother's cheek.

After that, she had started backing away and ended up crashing into the door. She fell to her knees and Joey rushed over to her and pulled her into his arms. "Serenity," her heart sank; she hadn't heard this much sorrow and pain in her brother's voice since the divorce. He looked at her for a long time, conveying the news through his eyes. Serenity's heart felt like it had cracked in two, understanding what had happened. She'd known this could happen for a while now, but refused to acknowledge it. Normally, she would have let her brother, mom and friends comfort her, but suddenly, it all seemed too much. She got up and ran away from the office, ignoring the cries of her family members; hoping naively that if she could get as far from that room as possible, the tragic truth would remain there as well. She reached her secret sanctuary and, exhausted, gave in to the tears that she'd been holding back. She felt so bad for Joey, but she needed some time to be alone. "I hope he's not worrying about me right now," she said to the cool, soothing wind.

"I'm so sorry, Serenity." Serenity whirled around and found one of her brother's closest friends, Tristan Taylor, standing there. She sent him a tiny smile as he went and sat down on the end of the broken seesaw next to her swing. She actually found his presence calming and comforting. He was probably her best guy friend; Mai and Tea being her closest girl-friends. She'd first met him after Joey had come to visit her before her eye operation. He had been so sweet and kind to her and Joey. She knew that he liked her, Joey had told her that. That conservation had been both embarrassing, funny, surprising and left her feeling totally shy around him. She could only imagine the expression on her older brother's face if she had told him that the feeling was mutual.

"Joey's with Yugi and the others, as well as your mom, just in case you were wondering," Tristan said quietly. Serenity thanked him softly, thinking how lucky she was to have such a great friend. "Tristan?" He looked over at her, looking concerned. "Do you think that he'll be okay? I mean, he lived with him for most of his life, until a few years ago," she said worriedly. "I hope he's not mad at me for just leaving him there at the school, but I had to get out. I feel so hopeless, for once there's nothing I can really do to help Joey, except provide support." She covered her face with her hands, trying to be brave and hold back the sea of tears that threatened to come spilling out. The next thing she knew, there was an arm around her shoulders. She felt a little tingle run down her arms at his gentle touch. She almost smiled, then scolded herself immediately. "How can I be thinking about that at a time like this? What kind of person am I?" she thought, angry at herself.

"I'm sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?" Tristan had pulled back from the hug, feeling Serenity tense in his arms. The look in his eyes betrayed something more than concern. "I'm really sorry, Tristan. I - I just - I can't seem to do anything right today. I can't think properly and I don't know how to help my brother after all the times he's been there for me in the past. And then there's this, which I don't even know what to call it-" she suddenly gasped, a deep red colour spreading across her cheeks. Her eyes darted to Tristan, and then, suddenly it was as if a calmness came over her. A look of pure love, compassion and sincere concern . . . and she knew that he had picked up on what was left unspoken. Their eyes remained locked on each other for what seemed like a glorious eternity. And in that moment, it was like every missed opportunity, every desperate longing and every word they had ever wanted to say to each other was exchanged now in utter silence.

_Three years later_

"Hi Serenity! TRISTAN! YOUR GIRLFRIEND'S HERE!" "I know, Mom! I'm coming!" There was a sound of rushed footsteps and then Tristan appeared in the doorway. Serenity never failed to notice the look of total joy and love that entered into his eyes every time he looked at her. She couldn't believe that they'd been dating for so long, and that Joey hadn't killed Tristan yet. Her brother had been very clear about his view on their relationship: If Tristan broke her heart, he'd make him regret the day he ever stepped foot into Domino City. The original warning had involved a lot more violence, but after the first year, when Joey had seen how happy they were together, he had make the threat slightly less severe. Tristan hugged her and kissed her on the cheek before taking her hand and leading her to the garage. He handed her the pale pink helmet he'd bought for her, and they climbed on his motorcycle together. "So, where are you taking me today, TT?" she asked, using her little nickname for him. "You know how you always wanted to see the sunset from that cliff in the forest we went to a while ago?" he replied, smiling back at her. She hugged him and got ready for the long ride.

As they raced along a lonely road, she saw a hummingbird following them; it had been her dad's favourite bird. She closed her eyes, smiling. "Dad, I know you're watching out for me. But, I think that maybe you should go check on Joey. I'll be perfectly fine with Tristan." After a few more minutes, the hummingbird disappeared and she turned her gaze to the beautiful sight ahead of her. "It's breath-taking, isn't it? Almost as pretty as you," he said, leading her over to sit on a fallen tree. They sat there for a long time, just enjoying the moment of exquisite beauty, pure contentment and peace. Finally, just as the sun was barely visible, they leaned towards each other and their lips met. They both grinned at each other. "That internal fireworks explosion never gets old does it?" Tristan said, laughing. Serenity shook her head, then rested it on his shoulder, letting out a deep sigh of contentment before replying. "Never. True love never ages."

**Hope that was okay. Thanks to anyone who has read this!**


End file.
